Michael Swickard's new novel about New Mexico

In the 1939 movie, The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy was told by
Glinda, "The Munchkins want to know, are you a Good Witch or a Bad Witch."
Until then Dorothy and the viewing public had thought all witches were bad. But
The Wizard of Oz revolves around Good
Witches and Bad Witches.

That lesson might translate to other
things in our world. August 6th is the 70th anniversary of the atomic bomb over
Hiroshima, Japan. It followed the July 16, 1945 detonation of a 20 kiloton nuclear
device at Trinity Site, New Mexico, and was followed by the detonation of a
second atomic bomb over Nagasaki, Japan.

A few days later Japan
unconditionally surrendered. World War Two was over. It remains the most deadly
war of all time in our world. About three percent of the world's population
died in the conflict and that number might be low. In raw numbers the estimate
is sixty million people died.

And for the most part the dying was
over after two atomic bombs forced Japan to surrender. Especially in the last
thirty years there has been a fierce debate about those actions. Usually it is
an explosive argument when people discuss using two atomic bombs to end World
War Two.

Perhaps we should ask: were they a
good bomb or a bad bomb? Like witches we automatically assume all atomic bombs
to be bad. Were they, are they?

Certainly they have the liability of
injuring people with radiation long after the war has ended. But the official
position of our country and our politicians is that injury by radiation does
not matter at all. How do I know that? I am a Downwinder injured by the Trinity
explosion which injured thousands of other New Mexicans but our government and
politicians are still seventy years later ignoring our injuries.

The question most people ask: Did
the nuclear bombs really end World War Two? The day of surrender Emperor Hirohito
broadcast, "The enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the
power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many
innocent lives. Should we continue to fight, not only would it result in an
ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would
lead to the total extinction of human civilization."

It was very chaotic in Japan. Some members
of the Japanese Military did not want to surrender but they revered the
Emperor. Japan was in essence a dictatorship not of the Emperor but the
Military. The Emperor was truly a figurehead and General McArthur who ran Japan
in the first five years after the war's end understood this and allowed
Hirohito to have a post-war figurehead role.

For several years I lived in Japan
and heard several Japanese say that they had been ordered by the military to
sharpen broom handles and they were supposed to try to stab invading Americans
when they landed. They were grateful the war ended for whatever reason. They
did not wish to die needlessly.

Further, I drink coffee with a man
who was on a troop ship to Japan and was going to make the first of two major
landings. He says the reason he is still alive and had a career as a high
school teacher is that the war ended suddenly. He is a supporter of the use of
atomic weapons.

Seventy years later we can inspect
the plans that were in effect for the invasion to end the war. Operation
Olympic was to be on the Southern-most Japanese island of Kyushu November 1,
1945 while Operation Coronet the invasion of main island Honshu south of Tokyo
was scheduled for four months later.

The pentagon planning paper was called
Operation Downfall. It projected millions of deaths. But we and the Japanese
were spared that holocaust of death.

Can atomic bombs be good? Yes, when
they end a dictatorship and allow Japan to become a democracy. I told this to a
clerk in a store recently. She said she could not believe atomic bombs to be
good. I replied, the use of force, the use of good atomic bombs allows you to
reject the truth.

As a nation we are collectively being
intentionally stupid about the safety of our citizens for political reasons. Places
where the military are not allowed a means to protect themselves are in the
news, but for the wrong reason. The issue is not if individual military members
are armed or not. It is that sign, Gun Free Zone, deliberately telling people
of evil intent or mental illness that those people stand no chance against a
gunman.

Gun Free Zone signs say to some
people that No One Can Shoot Back. Telling people of evil intent or mental
illness that our military and school children have no means of defense is
insane. It makes them targets while also not giving them a defense.

The danger of attack in our society
comes from two major groups: people of evil intent and people who are mentally
ill. Our society is caught in a dilemma. We have plenty of laws against people
taking guns to certain places. But they are just words and not actions. People
prohibited from having guns get them anyway.

We are told if all guns were banned in
America there would be no guns on the street. That is beyond stupid. The reason
five military servicemen were killed a week ago was they and everyone around
them followed the law while the perpetrator did not.

Remember that we made drugs illegal
and yet illegal drugs are easily obtainable in every community. We arrest and incarcerate
drug violators all of the time and still the drugs flood our towns. Having laws
against guns does not and will not stop their use by criminals and people with mental
illnesses.

The only way to stop a person with a
gun and murderous intent is someone else with a gun who will defend the
defenseless. George Orwell wrote, "People sleep peaceably in their beds at
night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

We cannot reason with people of evil
intent or mental illness, we must respond to force with force. The police
cannot ever respond to violent attacks on our population in time to prevent them.
They can end the carnage but precious minutes go by as they travel to the area
where people are being attacked. The only logical answer is that some of the
people be able to respond instantly.

Now I do not want to see lots of
open carry firearms because that means that the person who intends to defend
the defenseless is apparent to someone of evil intent. Rather, I like conceal
carry and making sure that someone coming to military facilities, public schools
or churches does not know who may be packing.

The defenders of Congress, the
Supreme Court and the President of the United States work very hard at not
disclosing their strategy for defense. It is multi-layered and robust. The
primary defense of these people is between the ears and not in the hands.

Let me ask you: is the President
that much more important than a class of first graders in your local elementary
school? Both the President and the innocent children deserve our best defense.
But defending children has been hijacked by political operatives who wish to
impose gun control on the population as a whole. They unintentionally sponsor domestic
terrorism in our public schools by taking away all semblance of defense.

Yes, the police can come within
fifteen minutes and take a report but the need is for people to be armed and
ready every second. Most of those armed and ready people will never be called
upon because people of evil intent avoid places where those people will shoot
back.

That leaves the mentally ill who
have watched hour after hour of coverage when someone shoots up a military facility
or a public school. They may attack regardless of if there is a defense. Then
the defense need to work and work very effectively.

Our safety really does rest between
the ears of our leaders. Only they can remove the Gun Free Zones and replace
them with effective defensives.

A group of New Mexicans have a
legitimate suspicion that they were injured by the actions of our government years
ago but no one today cares. I am one of them. We are called Downwinders since the
suspicion is that our injury is from the downwind residue from the first
nuclear explosion.

That twenty kiloton nuclear
explosion was in a remote area of New Mexico seventy years ago this July 16th. The
scientists wanted to be sure the device would explode correctly when dropped
over a Japanese city.

The implosion-design plutonium
device at Trinity Site was similar to the bomb detonated over Nagasaki, Japan
August 9, 1945. In the seventy years since that nuclear test our world has
changed dramatically and yet some of that 1945 world perhaps stays with us
Downwinders.

We suspect we are survivors of invisible
pollutants from that nuclear explosion leading to our health problems. For me
it was an aggressive form of thyroid cancer. Around Chernobyl it is called Radiation
Induced Thyroid Cancer.

The 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power
plant accident injured many people downwind of the area, however, there are
robust efforts underway to identify and help those injured by the radiation. In
our country our government has no interest in the radiation injury to New
Mexico Downwinders. Does anyone doubt that the atomic explosion polluted New
Mexico?

Years ago one politician stated,
"We beat the Japanese, what do you want?" He seemed mad that I was
bringing up stuff from years ago. Politicians and journalists alike are not
interested. I have written these issues in columns several times to the yawns
of our leaders.

Worse, we Downwinders are dying out.
Our movement is like the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) founded in 1868 with
their membership limited to Union military in the Civil War. Five US Presidents
were GAR members. Then Albert Woolson, age 109, died in 1956 and then there
were no longer any GAR members.

The same will happen to the New
Mexico Downwinders. One of us will be the last one alive and then the movement
will end. Will we Downwinders find justice in our lifetime?

The problem is we do not know for
sure. Suspicion is not proof, but we have a right to be suspicious. Our
government has not done what was done in Europe after Chernobyl where they studied
carefully the people who thought they might have been sickened by the release
of radiation.

I appreciate that U. S. Senator Tom
Udall held a meeting a couple weeks ago in Tularosa and New Mexico
Representative Steve Pearce and I have spoken several times. But another day goes
by, another week, another month, another year, and some more of us Downwinders
have died.

Why do I think it was the radiation
release from the Trinity explosion that caused my cancer? Research is
compelling around Chernobyl that a very aggressive form of thyroid cancer is
tied to the radiation. I had that very aggressive form and was lucky that I
noticed the tumor early and it was removed within ten days of diagnosis or
perhaps I would not be here today.

Again, suspicion is not proof but my
government has not done anything to help Downwinders find out if our health
maladies are tied to Trinity Site. These maladies are not cheap. We are out
lots of money and there are quality of life issues.

Our government is quick to throw
money at other countries and other maladies in our country, why not this? Or
even come up with the cost of looking at this issue. Because there is no
political advantage and our people in government must always gain a political
advantage.

This issue will go away if
politicians and government leaders can ignore us long enough. There is only one
group who can bring justice to us if they will work at getting to the truth of
the radiation.

Journalists can continue to ignore
us or they can put it on the front page until our government comes to its
senses and acts responsibly. That is the role of the media in a perfect world.
Justice delayed is justice denied.